Felony DUI: Due to Arizona’s severe mandatory penalties for Aggravated DUI, you should never plead guilty before consulting a criminal defense attorney.

If you have been charged with a felony DUI in Arizona, you should consult a Tempe DUI lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your case and defense options. A felony DUI in Tempe exposes you to severe penalties if convicted. You will need an experienced Private practice Tempe DUI defense attorney to defend your felony DUI charges.

Arizona Felony DUI Laws:
Below are three factors that will aggravate a Tempe Misdemeanor DUI and elevate it to a “Felony DUI” or “Aggravated DUI” charge in Tempe AZ:
A.R.S. §28-1383(A) (1): (Paraphrased) The AZ DUI arrest occurred while your drivers license was suspended, restricted or revoked – Class 3 Felony
A.R.S. §28-1383(A) (2): (Paraphrased) Your current Tempe DUI charge is the third DUI in 7 years and at least two prior DUI were convictions within the last 7 years. – Class 3 felony
A.R.S. §28-1383(A) (3): (Paraphrased) Your current Tempe DUI charge was aggravated by the fact that a child under 15 years of age was a passenger in the vehicle while you were driving impaired, DUI, DWI, or Drunk Driving. – Class 6 FelonyDUI Penalties – Felony DUI Sentencing in Arizona
A Tempe Felony DUI conviction exposes you to mandatory sentencing guidelines. Each case has its own unique circumstances. Various facts surrounding your DUI dmay affect the Felony DUI penalties ordered by the judge if you are convicted. The mandatory DUI penalties under Arizona Law you may be exposed to include, but are not limited to the following:

• Long Term Felony criminal record;
• Jail time that ranges from one day to one year;
• Prison time from 4 months to 2 ½ years of incarceration;
• Revoking of your drivers license for 3 years;
• Lengthy supervised probation;
• Use of Ignition Interlock Device at your expense;
• Fines of Up to $150,000 plus 80% surcharge;
• $1500 prison assessment;
• $250 abatement fee;
• Probation fees;
• Costs for Drug or Alcohol Treatment Screening;
• Costs for Drug or Alcohol Counseling or Treatment Program;
*The above penalties are subject to change based on circumstances surrounding your Felony DUI charges and frequent changes to Arizona Law.

Felony DUI Penalties for a Tempe DUI conviction may be “aggravated” or
“mitigated”. Aggravated penalties are the result of those factors that surround your Tempe DUI that support the prosecution’s case against you. These are factors that will warrant more serious DUI punishments. Mitigating factors are circumstances or evidence that supports your DUI defense and warrant less serious penalties, particularly, those that are discretionary by the judge.

Tempe DUI Defense – Felony DUI Charges in Tempe AZ
Do not expect the judge or prosecution to offer you more mitigated sentencing out of compassion due to the fact that you do not have a private practice Tempe DUI defense attorney.

Without compelling arguments presented or motions filed by your Tempe DUI Defense Lawyer on your behalf, the judge or prosecution will not generally offer mitigated sentencing. Good DUI defense lawyers will examine the evidence and facts of your case to find mitigating factors that will lead to a reduction of your penalties if your are convicted of a felony DUI charge.

The felony DUI penalties are so severe, and intrusive on a person’s life, that they may feel that the situation is hopeless and do not think a Tempe DUI Attorney can help them. However, to the contrary, Felony DUI charges are often dismissed or reduced by good Tempe DUI defense attorneys. A qualified Tempe DUI lawyer or AZ criminal defense lawyer can defend any Tempe Felony DUI charge regardless of the severity or classification, or the amount of your Blood Alcohol Content or BAC levels (extreme or non-extreme). In many cases a Tempe DUI lawyer is able to get evidence dismissed; charges reduced to a Misdemeanor DUI, civil citation, or ultimately get the felony DUI charges dismissed completely.

Early retention of a good private practice Tempe DUI attorney will drastically increase your chances of a dismissal or other good outcome in your Felony DUI case. However, choosing to go without a qualified Tempe DUI defense attorney is a dangerous path towards a swift Felony DUI conviction in Arizona.

This blog has been posted for general public informational purposes only. All articles by this author are intended to raise awareness and generate discussion on a variety of Arizona State Law issues and topics. Note that Arizona legislation, laws, criminal code and DUI laws and penalties frequently change. If you have a criminal or DUI defense matter related to this topic, it is important that you consult or hire an Arizona criminal or AZ DUI lawyer in the jurisdiction or municipality of Arizona where you received your charges of up to date information.

If you have an outstanding warrant for arrest in Arizona or have been arrested in Maricopa County for AZ DUI other criminal charges contact the Law Office of James Novak, for your Free Consultation at (480) 413-1499. Speak directly with experienced Arizona criminal Defense and DUI Defense Attorney and James Novak (Former Prosecutor).

The Law Office of James Novak is devoted 100% to defending DUI, Drug & criminal charges in valley wide within Maricopa County including Mesa, Scottsdale, Tempe, Phoenix, Chandler, Gilbert Arizona, East Valley, AZ and surrounding cities in Phoenix metro area.